According to Max Health, an increasing number of pregnant women are using medications. According to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the rise of medications during pregnancy may raise the risk of fetal damage.
The study reiterated that drugs such as isotretinoin, thalidomide, Phenobarbital and valporate have been known to cause birth defects. However, little is known about the effects of the majority of prescription and over-the-counter drugs that are commonly taken during pregnancy. The study suggests it is impossible for pregnant women to know if medications they are taking pose a potential threat to the fetus. At the same time, information about birth defects and medications use may prompt some women to stop taking medications they need to treat a serious health condition.
The study was a collaboration between Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center, Harvard School of Publish Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers collected data from 1976 through 2008 with more than 30,000 interviews from women who reported their use of prescription and over-the-counter medications during pregnancy.
About 70 to 80 percent of women in the study said they had taken at least one medication during their first trimester, and about half of women reported taking at least one prescription medication during the first few months of pregnancy. The use of prescription drugs during the first trimester has increased over the last three decades by more than 60 percent, the study found. Antidepressant usage has increased dramatically, especially during the first trimester. The first trimester is believed to be the time when the risk of birth defects is greatest.